Mike McSorley

September 11 – October 31, 2015

Fat Boy Hill, 12″x9″, oil on panel

Amy, 9″x11″, oil on panel

Lawrenceville Alley, 9″x12″, oil on panel

Two Pears, 8″x10″, oil on panel

Plane, 12″x18″, oil on panel

As a child, I filled the margins of my notebooks; turning circles into spheres, extruding words, creating 3 dimensional objects from any shape.
My works reflect that interest. The original techniques of shading and extruding have been augmented with color theory, atmosphere, edge quality and experimentation.
First the image is drawn using graphite and brushed around with turpentine. The background is blocked in, pulling the graphite into the paint and using it to darken and tone down the edges. This layer is thin and the ground of the board is allowed to reflect back. This increases the intensity of the color and by brushing, scraping and rubbing; the color can be augmented. Sometimes the lines are still visible in the finished painting and at other times I redraw the edges with pencil to add strength.
I like to bring attention and importance to the common objects around us.
Some of these artworks are ‘Collections’. I put several small paintings into a group that tell a story. Each object is important and the focus of the individual painting. Put into a group, they form a narrative. An author creates mood by describing some details, and leaving others out. I try to do the same with paintings, using detail, color, form, and the object itself. Assembled they form a tale. It is somehow different than painting them all on one canvas.
Mike McSorley, 2015